Public gatherings banned during Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918

The Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 was swift and deadly, taking residents young and old. On October 11, Lafayette Mayor B.C. Cundall declared a moratorium on public gatherings and ordered the closing of fraternal lodges, schools, churches, pool halls and theaters. Children were required to stay home, but could travel with a permit issued by the city clerk.

By late October, dozens of Lafayette families had reported family members falling ill. Lafayette’s two doctors, Dr. Porter and Dr. Rothwell, were overwhelmed.

Lafayette Leader editor B.J. Redford suspended publication of the weekly newspaper from Nov. 8 to Dec. 6 — he, too had contracted the flu and was too ill to publish the newspaper. Redford reported nine deaths due to the flu, including 2-year-old Thomas Burt and 79-year-old Samuel Abernathy.

The quarantine was lifted Dec. 20, 1918. During the epidemic the makeshift hospital at the Congregational Church at Gough and Simpson, now the Mary Miller Theater, had treated 90 patients.

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The proliferation of indexed digital documents has significantly simplified the historical research process. Using property records, online maps and resources found in Colorado libraries, lots of missing pieces regarding our area’s history can be reassembled and explained. To that end, this site debunks the notion that everything we know about Lafayette, Louisville and Eastern Boulder County history has already been discovered. All contents copyright 2019.

The main photos for this blog site, shown at the top of this page, are early photographs of Lafayette and Simpson Street from the Doug Conarroe collection.

Visit our companion website at www.6000bees.com and read about our efforts to save some of Lafayette’s historic homes.